Rear carriers on motorcycles are commonly fitted in advance to standard types of motorcycles which are frequently used in carrying loads. Ofttimes, however, rear carriers are also found to be necessary on types of motorcycles which are not normally provided with such rear carriers, when it is desired to carry an extra load. In this latter type, such rear carriers are provided as optional parts.
In fitting a conventional rear carrier to a motorcycle, generally a flat fitting part is provided in the front end part of each of right and left stays, a fitting piece is suspended and set by welding or the like on the right and left of the intermediate part, the front end fitting part is connected to the motorcycle side in common, for example, with the motorcycle side fitting part of the rear cushion or shock absorber unit, and the fitting piece in the intermediate part on the right and left is connected by a bolt or the like to the right and left of the rear member of the motorcycle frame.
Because the above-mentioned conventional rear carrier is fitted by being connected to the motorcycle frame in four places in the front and rear and on the right and left of the intermediate part, too many connecting places are provided, and it is thus desirable to simplify the fitting, especially when the carrier is provided as an optional part to be fitted by the user himself.
Further, because fitting pieces are provided by welding or the like in two places on the right and left of the intermediate part of the rear carrier, many steps are required in making the carrier, the surfaces including such places must be treated such as by plating after welding, and the cost of the rear carrier is consequently high. In addition, the parts connected with the fitting pieces must be provided in the rear part of the motorcycle frame, with the degree of difficulty depending on the type of motorcycle, and therefore the general utility is poor. Further, in the fitting of the above-mentioned rear carrier, when it is fastened in common with the rear cushion or shock absorber unit at one end, the connecting part will not necessarily be conspicuous in appearance, but the fitting part will appear on the side surface so as to be unfavorable in appearance.
In a motorcycle of a long double-seat type, it is common to provide no rear carrier, so as to avoid interference with a rider sitting on the rear seat portion, and thus such types of motorcycles are inconvenient due to their lack of a rear carrier. Therefore, it has been considered to provide a rear carrier as an optional part to be fitted to such double-seat type of motorcycle so as to carry a load. However, it is not desirable for the rear carrier to project rearwardly beyond the entire length of the motorcycle itself. In order to carry a sufficient load without projecting the rear carrier rearwardly, the rear carrier will have to be set to be long on the seat side. Also, it is common to set the size of the rear carrier to accommodate the maximum dimension of the load to be carried, and even in the case of carrying a small load, the rear carrier will remain large.
Therefore, if the rear carrier is set as fixed not only on a motorcycle of the double-seat type as mentioned above, but also on a standard type of motorcycle, it will occupy a large area in the longitudinal direction in the rear part of the motorcycle and, even when the rear carrier is not used, it will fixedly occupy an inconveniently large area. Further, depending on the type of motorcycle, the appearance will be detrimentally affected. In a motorcycle of a double-seat type, if a rear carrier is provided fixed thereto, it will interfere with the ride of the rider on the rear seat, and if it is removed and fitted, it will also be very inconvenient.